News & Brews August 13, 2024
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Pa. budget surplus ‘on track to run dry’
Call us not at all surprised. Spotlight PA reports what we (and some lawmakers and fiscal watchdogs) have been saying for months. The new state budget, which spends more than the state takes in, is set to deplete the surplus everyone has been so giddy about. “Pennsylvania will completely deplete the General Fund surplus by the next fiscal year, the IFO [Independent Fiscal Office] estimatedbased on expected spending, in-progress tax cuts, and revenue projections. That will force lawmakers to tap into the rainy day fund to balance the budget due less than a year from now if they don’t find new revenue or cut spending.” (No wonder House GOP Appropriations Committee Chair Seth Grove says the state budget faces “dismal collapse.”)
Longtime Dem state rep drops re-election bid
Democrat state Rep. Mike Sturla (Lancaster County), who has served in the House since 1991, has dropped his re-election bid. PennLive reports that “Sturla said he made his decision on Sunday to let this term be his last one after toying with the idea of calling it a career over the past few weeks.” Not surprisingly, Sturla said he already knows of someone who may want to run for his seat (but he didn’t name names). The party’s nominee will not be chosen by voters, however, but by Democrat Party committee members, given we’re already well past the primary election. The district leans heavily Democrat, and Sturla won re-election in 2022 with 61% of the vote.
Report: SEPTA & feds share blame for China contract
Remember a while back I shared the story of how SEPTA canceled a $185 million contract for new rail cars after sending more than $50 million in taxpayer dollars to a company owned by the Chinese government? Well, the Center Square reports that a new report from the Federal Transit Administration “warns that SEPTA’s contract with a state-owned Chinese company lacked proper oversight and may not have met federal guidelines for Buy America requirements. However, much of the problem came from vague guidance from the federal government itself.”
Texas’ changing public opinion on school choice
The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board writes that according to a new survey from the University of Houston’s Hobby School of Public Affairs and Texas Southern University’s Executive Master Program, approximately two-thirds of Texans support school choice, up from 49% in October. This support spans both parties, men, women, Black, white, Latino, suburban, urban, rural… basically, it’s broad support. How did it happen? The Ed Board credits Gov. Greg Abbott’s dogged determination. “The greatest test of political leadership in a democracy is moving the public to a place they don’t know they need to go. On education that has meant breaking the union blockade against parental choice that locks students into failing schools.”
Pa. House committee to hold final ‘Back to School’ hearing today
The Pa. House Republican Policy Committee will hold the last in a series of “Back to School” hearings this morning at 10:00 a.m. This hearing, at the Middle Bucks Institute of Technology, will “examine the efforts and strategies employed by the Middle Bucks Institute of Technology (MBIT) and Council Rock School District to deliver a high-quality education to their students while maintaining fiscal responsibility.” Watch the hearing at 10:00 a.m. here.